Class 




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THE SPIRIT OF RHODE-ISLAND HISTORY. 



Presented by the 
""Or,K ISLAXI) nrSTORICAI. SOCIKTV. 



DISCOURSE, 



DELIVERED BEFORE THE 



EHODE-ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 



ON THE EA'ENING OF 



MONDAY JANUARY 17, 1853 



U. 



BY HON. SAMUEL GREENE ARNOLD, 

LIEUT. GOVERNOR OF RHODE-ISLAXD. 



PROVIDENCE: 
GEORGE II. WHITNEY, 

1853. 

i- 



Printed by Knowles, Anthony & Co. 

PROVIDENCE. 






o 
'^ 

^^ At a meeting of the Rhode-Island Ilistoi'icrtl Society held on the ISth day of January 

1853, it was uanimously 

Resolved, That the thanks of this Society be presented to Hon. Samuel G. Arnold, for the 
eloquent and appropriate Discourse delivered by him before the Society on the 17th of Jan- 
uary instant, and that he be reciucsted to place the original manuscript of his Discourse uiion 
the files of the Society, aud also to furnish a copy of the same for publication. 

Attest, 

H. T. BECKWITH, Sexy. 

Peovidence. Jan. 19, 18.53. 
Hon. SAM'L G. AKXOLD, 

Providence, 

Diar Sir: — AVe hand you herewith a copy of a resolution 
passed by the R. I. Historical Society at their meeting yesterday, relative to the Discourse 
delivered by yourself before the Society. 

In accordance with the above mentioned resolution, we have the pleasure to solicit a copy 
for the presS) of your discourse delivered on the 17th instant. 
Your ob't Serv'ts, 

HENRY T. BECKWITH, ^ Committee 
GEO. BAKER, [ on Annual 

JOHN A. HOWLAND, ) ^^i''l»««s- 

Providence, January 20, 1853. 
Gentlemen, 

Y'our letter accompanying the resolution of the Rhode-Island Historical Society 
requesting the manuscript for the tiles of the Society and a copy of the same for the press, is 
received. With my thanks for the friendly expressions contained in the resolution. I send 
herewith the manuscript subject to your disposal. The documentary evidence in proof of 
the facts stated in this discourse has been examined by me in the British State Paper office 
at London, as well as in our State Records. 

It was my intention to add a few notes before letting the address go out of my hands, but 
the pressure of other engagements prevents my so doing. 

I therefore send the manuscript as it is, and should it tend in any degree to awaken an in- 
terest in Historical research and thereby to promote the objects of the Society, itsi)urpose 
will be attained. 

With high regard I remain, Gentlemen, 

Your ob't ,serv"t, 

SAMUEL GREENE ARNOLD. 
To Messrs. H. T. Beckwith, 

Geo. Baker, J Committee. 

J. A. HofTLAND, 



DISCOURSE. 



Gentlemen of the Historical Society : — 

In conformity with established custom we have met again 
to celebrate the anniversary of our corporate existence. It is 
well that these reunions should take place for they serve to 
stimulate the exertions of our members and to further the 
objects of our association. They occur at a season when gen- 
tlemen representiijg every section and interest of our State are 
assembled for legislative action, many of whom are members 
of the society who at any other period could not be present at 
our meetings, and all of whom, whether members or otherwise, 
must from their position as legislators feel no ordinary interest 
in whatever pertains to the history or redounds to the honor 
of Rhode Island. Occasions like this revive the slumbering 
lire that else would smoulder beneath the mass of its own ma- 
terial — they urge to renewed effort the patient few who toil on 
unnoticed in the tedious task of original research — and more 
than this, they keep alive that glorious feeling, the Pride of 
State, to which history owes its brightest eras and Man his 
noblest deeds ; which made the Greek republics models for all 
time, and Attica, among the smallest, the foremost of them all. 
In this view of the advantages to be derived from our his- 
torical anniversaries let us consider for one moment how and 
why results so desirable are thus produced. It is simply be- 
cause at this time only the opportunity occurs to spread abroad 
some knowledge gleaned from that mass of rich material 
rescued from oblivion in dusty garret and cobwebbed cellar, to 



6 

be preserved as a precious legacy to posterity among the ar- 
chives oC your cabinet ; because at tliis time the student who 
for history's sake pores over those musty records, deciphers the 
mildewed manuscript, and seeks in their originals the proofs of 
a glorious but half forgotten past, may emerge from his seclu- 
sion to diffuse the rich result of anxious hours of labor ; be- 
cause at this time only may our Society speak out to the peo- 
ple of the State with that most authoritative voice which no 
government may disregard and live, which no nation can 
forego and flourish — the trulli of history ; and lastly because 
in putting forth this truth vv-e may, once a year at least, be 
reminded of those brilliant passages in Rhode Island progress 
which should serve to foster a noble love for the memory of 
our ancestors and eiicourage a generous determination to pre- 
serve tlieir virtues, their principles, and the moral supremacy 
they won. 

And this is that Pride of State without v/hich oiu'distinctiv^e 
character, so long j)reserved, must finally be merged in the 
general mass, our individuality as a State be lost in the vast 
asjgregate of the Nation, and the name of Rhode Island be no 
longer heard when the principles she first of all maintained, the 
spirit she first of all displayed shall have been adopted by all 
other States and recognized as the birthright of the human 
race. To preserve and perpetuate this feeling is for us the 
most important end to keep in view. To this Society is 
entrusted the precious charge — the truth and honor of a State's 
existence. While each sister State has had her historian to 
give enduring form to the records of her daring deeds, to make 
known to men her claims to high distinction, and to contribute 
each his part to the grand fabric of our national history, Rhode 
Island alone has stood aloof, remained inactive, or failed at 
least to assert her indisputable place among the earliest in 
Council and the foremost in action. No wonder then that rival 
States have claimed the precedence in many bold designs 
wherein they acted well but simply followed Virhere Rhode 
Island led. Wc cannot blame them that they injure us while 
setting forth their own illustrious acts. The fault is in our- 
selves. Shut up withhi the closets of our State House, or 



guarded by the walls of yonder cabinet lie piles of records that 
belong not to this State alone but, by prescriptive right, to this 
nation and mankind. Rarely have their dnsly leaves been 
turned save by those who have their custody, and whose an- 
nual duty is to open somewhat of their contents to the world. 
By so doing we may hope to keep alive the ennobling senti- 
ment of State pride, until the stigma of silence upon what has 
become a national as well as a local duty is removed by an 
authentic, plain and sober history of Rhode Island. 

Thus far of the objects of this Society and the chief pur- 
pose of this anniversary. 

It is with a feeling of unfeigned diffidence mingled with an 
emotion of pride at the grandeur of the theme that I approach 
the subject proposed for this discourse — the Spirit of Rhode 
Island History. A topic so pregnant with important truths, ex- 
tending over a period of more than two centuries, embracing a 
long succession of salient facts in civil and ecclesiastical polity, 
illustrated by stirring incident, thrilling personal adventure and 
daring military achievement should not be lightly touched, yet 
cannot be condensed or fairly treated within tlie limits of an 
evening hour. To give but a scanty outline, a sketch of prin- 
ciples, with but a bare allusion to the facts that prove them — 
the essence and not the substance — is the most our time allows. 
If in the course of these remarks I make any assertion that may 
seem new and unsupported by familiar facts, or venture any 
opinion Avithont stating the evidence of its truth be assured 
that it is from want of time and not of proof 

I have no historical theory to support, but simply aim to trace 
a principle. 

There probably never was a State the circumstances of whose 
settlement displayed so prominently a singleness of purpose 
animating the whole of its heterogeneous and conflicting ele- 
ments as this. Certain it is, and admitted on all sides, by our 
early opponents in derision, and by ourselves with pride, that a 
more confused and discordant assemblage of exiles and outcasts 
than first peopled the shores and islands of the Narragansett 
never sough t refuge in any land. The contempt of the Pharisee 
for his more humble but deserving brother, finds its counterpart 



8 

in those words of complacent scorn which we meet in the 
writings of Mather when speaking of Rhode Island he says "if 
a man had lost his religion he might find it at this general 
muster of opinionists." With pride do we their descendants 
look back upon the dissension and discord among the founders 
of Rhode Island, for as the All-Creating Mind wrought out 
from the confusion of chaos this fair and beautiful world, so do 
we recognize the same Omnipotent Deity shaping, from the 
disordered masses of the early colonists, a fabric of civil gov- 
ernment, from which, in later days, the entire sisterhood of 
American republics have taken their model. Just such min- 
gled and antagonistic elements were necessary to complete the 
grand design, and the more irreconcilable they appear the more 
striking and wonderful is the harmonious result. It may seem 
strange to those who have not studied the lives of the founders 
of Rhod§ Island that the very point upon which her revilers 
most relied to justify their contempt should now be held up as 
a source of honest pride. But there is more in this point than 
appears upon the surface, more than the men of Massachusetts 
were willing to concede, more than the bitterness of party strife 
could fathom in those days of unrelenting hostility. Men of 
strong and independent minds rarely tliink alike on msiny sub- 
jects. Each takes his own view and reflects therein the 
character of his individual mind. Diversity of opinions and 
clashing interests, as each leading mind gathers its followers 
around it, forming sects in religion or parties in politics, is the 
result. Men of this stamp could not long endure the dead calm 
of a Church and State mediocrity. A system which checks 
progress by repressing enquiry, reducing all to a uniform stand- 
ard of faith and practice, may compel uniformity for the sake 
of peace, but purchases it at the expense of intellectual and 
moral power. Such a system must be inimical to the devel- 
opment of leading principles or enlarged ideas, for it can only 
be preserved by crushing precisely that style of mind which is 
capable of evolving such principles. 

Mediocrity in the masses, and a concentration of the intellect 
and learning of the State in the dominant class, few in number 
^nd despotic in feeling, but infusing, by virtue of their supe- 



riority, the bias of their minds through the whole body politic 
is the inevitable result of compulsory conformity. The men 
who quietly submit to this condition of things may be edu- 
cated, talented and refined, but they lack the genius which is 
essential to progress, and the force which gives stimulus to 
action. The presence of these qualities would unfit them for 
so quiet and so despotic a meridian, for the free development of 
the nobler attributes of mind requires the genial atmosphere of 
freedom. Thus thought the fathers of Rhode Island when 
the banishment of their leader convinced them that the authori- 
ties of the Bay had resolved at all hazards to suppress free dis- 
cussion, and that submission or exile were the only alternatives. 
In the spirit of liberty they deserted their homes to realize in 
the wilderness their conceptions of a State. Nor was it only 
upon points of theological difterence that the rupture occurred. 
In matters of religious belief the founders of this State, as the 
above cited words of Dr. Mather prove, were as much at vari- 
ance with each other as with the community they left. Deep 
hidden in the heart of Man lies the feeling which prompted 
their movement, too deep for sectarian conflict to disturb, too 
vehement for practice on any field not specially prepared for its 
development. Civil as well as religious freedom was their de- 
sire, and to embody both in a constitutional government the 
yet untried experiment they sought. Differing in their views 
upon ahnost every other subject they agreed with singular 
unanimity upon one. Disputing upon points of doctrinal the- 
ology, differing as to the nature and forms of civil government, 
conflicting in their notions of the principle and limits of law, 
and contending about natural and proprietary rights, they were 
nevertheless cordially united upon one article of compact — 
that spiritual accountability was to God alone. Here we have 
at once the source of their discord, and the singleness of pur- 
pose which triumphed over all. Strong minded, independent 
men, with a free arena of their own selection on which to act, 
might well present a stirring scene in contrast to the neighbor- 
ing calm. We repeat that such an ancestry engaged in such a 
cause is a worthy object for our pride, and the stormy ordeal 
through which they passed attests the intellectual power which 



10 

crowned their efforts with success. Growing out of this spirit 
of liberty which we recognize as the moving cause of the settle- 
ment of Rhode Island, and forming an essential portion of it, 
was the spirit of tolerance. Not that simple toleration which 
permits by sufferance the existence of other forms of worship 
than the one established by law, but that broad and compre- 
hensive freedom of conscience embraced in the language of our 
first legislative enactment, "all men may walk as their con- 
sciences persuade them, every one in the name of his God." 
This new doctrine, which thus met the sanction of men who 
could agree upon no other principle, formed the distinctive 
feature of the colony. It was the prominent idea in the mind 
of its founder, and was embraced, with the zeal which persecu- 
tion only can inspire, by the entire mass of his followers. These 
two leading principles, civil freedom and religious tolerance, 
unite to form that perfect spirit of liberty which gave origin to 
Rhode Island, and which we shall find steadily pervading the 
policy of the State through the long course of its history. 

The American colonies with two exceptions owe their foun- 
dation to the spirit of commercial enterprise or personal ad- 
venture. 

The cause of the Pilgrim emigration was, in the first instance 
a religious one, the desire, not of religious freedom, but of free- 
dom to enjoy their own religion. The Puritan influx ten years 
later, by the terms of the grant from the Council of Plymouth, 
created a distinct trading corporation, and the two settlements 
were soon united in the great colony of Massachusetts. The 
other colony is that of Rhode Island and Providence Planta- 
tions, owing its foundation alone to the spirit of liberty, which 
elsewhere could find no congenial home. 

To the two leading principles already mentioned should be 
added one other, equally prominent with the early settlers, but 
not so fully kept in view, now that the occasion has passed 
away. Possession by right of discovery was a European doc- 
trine coeval with the days of Columbus and de Gama. First 
exercised by the Supreme Pontiff, who claimed the exclusive 
right as God's Vicegerent to the temporal control of all newly 
discovered countries, it was soon adopted by the maritime 



11 

powers as a part of the royal prerogative. Overlooking that 
principle of justice which establishes propriety in the original 
possessor, the sovereigns of Europe did not hesitate to assert 
their claim over both Americas. The rights of the aborigines, 
heathens and barbarians as they were, presented no obstacles to 
these enlightened and Christian legislators. Their heathenism 
was handed over to the tender mercies of the Church, their 
barbarism to the civilizing agency of gunpowder and steel. Al- 
though the method of administration was more summary in the 
Spanish and Portuguese possessions, the principle, in its broad- 
est extent, was recognized by the British crown, though rarely 
acted upon by the English colonists. Against the abstract right, 
as well as the positive abuse of these pretensions, the settle- 
ment of Rhode Island was the first solemn protest. Mercy and 
justice conspired to raise the voice of indignant rebuke against 
the wholesale assumption of territorial rights urged by the 
Council of Plymouth under their patent from King James. 
For the bold denunciation of those words of the patent in which 
the King, as the "Sovereign Lord" of this continent, grants by 
his "special grace, mere motion, and certain knowledge," a large 
portion of America, reaching from the Atlantic to the Pacific, to 
the Council of Plymouth, Roger Williams was twice subjected 
to the censure of the authorities of Massachusetts. By this act 
the founder of Rhode Island, in the spirit of justice, denied, in 
favor of the Indians, that royal supremacy which his descend- 
ents, 140 years later, in the spirit of liberty, spurned in favor of 
themselves. 

This attribute of justice, being in its nature negative, imply- 
ing, under the peculiar circumstances of the case, a determina- 
tion not to be instrumental in inflicting wrong, and now that 
the occasion which made it prominent has passed away, has 
been overlooked amid the more active and dazzling elements 
of our history ; yet it deserves a conspicuous place among the 
fundamental principles of the settlement of Rhode Island. As 
it was a leading idea in the origin of the State, so did it shortly 
prove the chief protection to its existence. To the correct and 
well timed application of this principle to the affairs of the 
aborigines we owe the lasting friendship of those powerful 



12 

Sachems who at one tmie controlled the destinies of New 
England. To the fidelity of the Indians towards their fellows 
in contempt and persecution, the founders of the State owe it 
that they were not swept from the face of the earth by the 
banded tribes when the New England confederacy was formed 
and Rhode Island was ignominiously excluded from the league 
for mutual defence. This forbearance on the part of barbarian 
hordes, enraged by a series of wrongs, and thirsting for ven- 
geance on the whites, was due to no policy of the moment, 
dictated by impending danger to be broken in the hour of safety. 
It was the result of years of confidence implanted in the bo- 
soms of Massasoit and Canonicus by the founders of Rhode 
Island, and perpetuated in the memory, and the conduct of their 
successors. 

Very soon after the organization of the colony this spirit of 
justice, uniting itself with the instinct of political self preserva- 
tion, evolved a system of laws adapted to the exigencies of the 
time and place, and in point of the liberality of its provisions, far 
beyond the spirit of the age. The first legislative code of Rhode 
Island, adopted in May 1647, was grand in its simplicity, and 
glorious in its acknowledgment of the practicability of self 
government. It recognized the democratic principle in its 
broadest extent, for at that time, as in the earlier periods of the 
Greek republics, the whole colony assembled in what was 
termed "a General Court of Election." A majority being pre- 
sent their acts were binding upon the whole, as is expressed in 
the opening of the Assembly when, having first chosen a Mode- 
rator "It was voted and found, that the major part of the col- 
ony were present at this Assembly, whereby was full power to 
transact." The next step was to provide against the with- 
drawal of so great a number as to defeat the object of the 
meeting by putting a slop to legislation. For this purpose 
the number of forty was agreed upon wiio, in case the rest 
should depart, were required to remain "and act as if the 
whole were present, and be of as full authority." In the 
establishment of this compulsory quorum we recognize the 
germ of the representative system, which the increasing num- 
ber of the colonists soon rendered necessary. The Assembly 



13 

being thus organized, and the initiatory steps taken to secure its 
permanence and authority, "It was agreed that all should set 
their hands to an engagement to the charter." 

The origin and character of this charter are deserving of more 
careful attention than we can now bestow. The position in 
which the four Rhode Island colonies were placed in reference 
to each other and to the more powerful, and at that time hos- 
tile colonies around them, demanded that some means should 
be taken to increase their efiiciency at home and their respec- 
tability abroad. They were settled at different times. Pro- 
vidence in the spring of 163G. Portsmouth in the spring of 
1638. Newport in the following spring, and Warwick in the 
winter of 1642 — 3. Although the same causes led to these 
settlements they were independent of each other in every re- 
spect, managing their affairs in their own town meetings, 
and conducting for themselves, as best they could, their dis- 
putes with the Puritan colonies. It was soon found that such 
small communities were too feeble to resist the pressure from 
without or to preserve harmony within. Consolidation was 
essential to self preservation and to the maintenance of their 
cherished principles. 

On the 14th March 1644 the labors of Mr. Williams with the 
English Commissioners at London were brought to a success- 
ful termination by the grant of the first patent of Rhode Island. 

This patent was general in its character, conferring absolute 
independence on the Colony of Rhode Island, under the name 
and style of "The Incorporation of Providence Plantations in 
Narragansett Bay in New England." The single proviso with 
which it was fettered, to wit that "the laws, constitutions and 
punishments, for the civil government of the said plantation, 
be conformable to the laws of England" was practically an- 
nulled in the same sentence by the subjoined words, "so far as 
the nature and constitution of that place will admit." Thus 
the people were left free to enact their own laws, for this quali- 
fying clause in effect defeated the proviso. No charter had 
ever been granted up to that time which conferred so ample 
powers upon a community, and but one as free has ever ema- 
nated since from a throne of the monarch. 



14 

The other remarkable feature in this instrument consists not 
in what it specified but in what it omitted. The use of the 
word "civil," every where prefixed to the terms "government" 
or "laws" wherever they occur in the patent, served to restrict 
the operation of the charter to purely political concerns. In 
this apparent restriction there lay concealed a boon of freedom 
such as man had never known before. A grant so great no 
language could convey, for the very use of words would imply 
the power to grant and hence the coordinate power to refuse. 
Here was the essence of the Rhode Island doctrine. They 
denied the right of Man to arrogate an attribute of Deity. 
They held themselves accountable to God alone for their reli- 
gious creed, and no earthly power could bestow on them a 
right they held from Heaven. Hence the expressive silence of 
the charter on the subject of religious freedom. At their own 
request their powers were limited to civil matters. Beyond 
this a silence more significant than language, more impressive 
than eloquence, more powerful than an hundred edicts pro- 
claimed the triumph of soul-liberty. 

This patent prescribed no form of government, all was left 
to the people with the fullest powers to adopt and act under it 
as they pleased. It was a task, as delicate and difficult as it 
was imperative, to consolidate the towns. A spirit of compro- 
mise and mutual concession was requisite to the work. Two 
and a half years elapsed after the glorious patent was received 
before it was adopted, at the time, and in the manner above 
described. This done the Assembly next proceeded to adopt 
the representative system, by providing that "a week before any 
general court, notice should be given to every town by the head 
officer, that they choose a committee for the transaction of the 
affairs there," and they also provide for a proxy vote in the 
words "and such as go not may send their votes sealed." 
Their next step was to the election of President and Assistants 
of the Colony by ballot, and John Coggeshall was chosen Presi- 
dent. The mode of passing general laws was then prescribed 
and deserves attention for the care with which it provides for 
obtaining a free expression of the opinions of the whole peo- 
ple. All laws were to be first discussed in the towns. The 



15 



town first proposing it was to agitate the question in town 
meeting and conclude by vote. The town clerk was to send 
a copy of what was agreed on to the other three towns, who 
were likewise to discuss it and take a vote in town meeting. 
They then handed it over to a committee of six men from 
each town, freely chosen, which committees constituted "the 
General Court," who were to assemble at a call for the purpose, 
and, if they found the majority of the Colony concurred in the 
case, it was to stand as a law "till the next General Assembly 
of all the people," who were finally to decide whether it should 
continue as law or not. Thus the laws emanated directh'" 
from the people ; the General Court having no power of 
revision over cases already presented, but simply the duty of 
promulgating the laws with which the towns had entrusted 
them. The right to originate legislation was however vested 
in them to be carried out in tliis way. When the Court had 
disposed of the matters for which it was called, should any 
case be presented upon which the public good seemed to re- 
quire their action, they were to debate and decide upon it. 
Then each committee, on returning to their town, was to report 
the decision, which was to be debated and voted upon in each 
town — the votes to be sealed and sent by each town clerk to 
the General Recorder, who, in presence of the President, was to 
count the votes. If a majority were found to have adopted 
the law it was to stand as such till the next General Assembly 
should confirm or repeal it. The jealousy with which the 
people maintained their rights, and the checks thus put upon 
themselves in the exercise of the law making power, as dis- 
played in this preliminary section of the code, present most 
forcibly the union of the two elements of liberty and law in the 
Rhode Island mind, the natural development of the spirit of 
freedom in harmony with the spirit of justice. 

The preamble and bill of rights, prefixed to the code of civil 
and criminal law adopted on this occasion, is a remarkable pro- 
duction. Brief, simple and comprehensive, it embraces in a 
few words the fundamental principles of all our subsequent 
legislation. It declares "that the form of government estab- 
lished in Providence Plantations is Democratic, that is to say, 



16 

a government held by the free and vokintary consent of all, or 
the greater part, of the free inhabitants." This position was 
no less novel and startling to the statesmen of that day than 
was the doctrine of religious freedom. Both of these dogmas 
were exclusively Rhode Island notions, and to her belongs the 
credit of them both. This first General Assembly aimed to 
adopt a code that should secure each of these objects, and thus 
be "suitable to the nature and constitution of the place." They 
succeeded, and we hazard little in saying that the code of 
1647, for simplicity of diction, unencumbered as it is by the 
superfluous verbiage which clothes our modern statutes in 
learned obscurity, for breadth of comprehension, embracing as 
it does the foundation of the whole body of law on every sub- 
ject which has since been adopted, and for vigor and originality 
of thought and boldness of expression, as well as for the vast 
significance and the brilliant triumph of the principles it em- 
bodies, presents a model of legislation which has never been 
surpassed. 

We have now seen how this spirit of justice was first exer- 
cised towards the Indians, and then, in their own defence, 
evolved the law element in the Colonial constitution, protecting 
the rights of minorities in confining, by every possible check, 
the action of the majority within certain prescribed limits. 
The union of these two elements, liberty and law, developed 
with singular intensity a spirit of patriotism. Nowhere has 
this feeling had more public prominence, or kindled a brighter 
flame in the individual heart than in Rhode Island. It has 
been said that the love of country exists in an inverse ratio with 
the extent of territory. Were this thesis correct we need look 
no further to account for the most active and striking feature 
of Rhode Island history. But a sounder philosophy will dis- 
cover in moral eff'ects a moral cause, and not content itself with 
assigning a merely physical reason for results that spring from 
the deepest fountains of Man's nature. Every point which 
we have described as giving a distinctive character to the 
early history of our State converged to this. It took form 
almost at the outset from the causes assigned, and it glowed 
with a stronger, purer flame from the peculiar nature of those 



17 

causes. Here was their country. Twice banished for opin- 
ion's sake the whole civilized world was closed against them. 
No form of civil government then existing could recognize their 
Democracy, and even Christian charity denied their faith. 
Rhode Island was their only refuge ; reverence for the law 
their only safeguard, and so long as the law could not interfere 
with religion they knew their liberties were secure. Every 
incentive to patriotism that exists in the instinct of self-preser- 
vation, or in the consciousness of being the exclusive guardians 
of principles destined to alter the whole current of human af- 
fairs and elevate Man to a position never before attained, was 
presented to the founders of Rhode Island. No wonder that 
the love of country in early times, and the i)ride of State in 
later years, have formed so marked a feature in our history. We 
shall presently see how prominent this feeling became, and 
how widely and rapidly it extended, when the spirit of Rhode 
Island had infused itself through all the colonies, and her cause 
had become the cause of United America. 

We have now reviewed the most conspicuous points in the 
moral history of the State ; the spirit of liberty in its two 
branches, civil and religious; the spirit of justice in its nega- 
tive application to the aborigines, and its positive results in 
evolving the code of 164.7 ; and the spirit of patriotism result- 
ing from the harmonious union of these elements. These points 
will serve as landmarks to all that follows. They form the 
nucleus of two centuries of progress, and the safe standards by 
which to judge how far we have acted out the principles of our 
ancestors. 

But there is one other feature in our history which should 
not be overlooked. It is one that held a striking prominence 
for more than a century, and only ceased to be conspicuous 
when the occasion that produced it passed away. It is a spirit 
of forbearance, of brotherly kindness, of charity ; a feeling, by 
whatever name it may be called which led them alike to shield 
the oppressed and to pity rather than to scorn the oppressor. 
It was no temporizing policy which led them at one time to 
exert their powerful influence with the Indians in behalf of 
their persecutors, and at another to set their faces like an im- 

3 



18 

movable rock, in defence of their principles, against the arrogancg 
of the neighboring colonies. Now we see them acting as me- 
diators to protect the Pnritans, and now harboring and defend- 
ing the (Quakers from their insolent demands. In every posi- 
tion they stood true to their glorions principle of freedom, and 
ready to extend the hand of kindness and open the heart of 
charity wherever a fellow being needed their devotion, were he 
friend or foe. It is no pleasant task to support these remarks 
by an appeal to the impartial page of history. Rather would 
we pass in silence the records of an age of bigotry to dwell 
upon that brighter era when early antipathies became merged 
in the ultimate triumph of Rhode Island principles, and the 
confederated colonies reflect a common lustre in an age of 
heroism. But we are called on for the proofs and they shall be 
presented, enough but not all of them, and briefly too, for we 
wish not to dwell upon the exciting theme of wrong and out- 
rage, A few months after the banisliment of Roger Williams 
the Pequod war broke out. This powerful tribe had sent em- 
bassadors to the Narragansetts to eflect a league that should 
involve in its fatal results the utter destruction of the English. 
Mr. Williams was the only man in New England who could 
avert the impending evil. His own life and that of the few 
who had joined him was secure in the love of the Narragansetts. 
Still at the risk of his life, from the Pequot tomahawks and the 
perils of the way, he sought the wigwam of Canonicus and 
accomplished what Mr. Bancroft has pronounced "the most 
intrepid and most successful achievement of the whole war ; 
an action as perilous in its execution as it was fortunate in its 
issue." What was the reward of his magnanimity ? Gov. 
Winthrop moved in the General Court that Mr. Williams be 
recalled from banishment and honored with some high mark of 
favor. To the lasting disgrace of the Piu'itans the question 
was allowed to drop unnoticed. More vile ingratitude does 
not illustrate the annals of bigotry in any age. 

The same vindictive spirit was displayed toward the people 
of Rhode Island when in 1642 the New England confederacy 
was formed, chiefly for protection against the Indians. Al- 
though the colonies then owed their existence to the heroism 



19 

of Rhode Island, the application for admittance to the league 
was sternly refused, except she would renounce her principles 
and submit to the hierarchal despotism of her neighbors. This 
she refused to do and she was basely. left to stand alone amid 
dangers from famine, pestilence and war. Her only strength 
was in the valor of her sons and the truth of her principles. 
Had the law of retaliation been her guide, as it has been of 
most governments, she would have been justified by the perils 
to which she was exposed, and might have compelled admission 
to the league by withholding her restraining influence from the 
Indians. It is one of the brightest spots in her history that in 
this dark hour the magnanimity of her founder actuated her 
councils. Turning from the ingratitude of the Puritans, she 
appealed to the King. A free charter was obtained. The de- 
spised colony now assumed the rank of an independent State, 
and to the subsequent harshness of her neighbors was enabled 
to oppose the language of bold but courteous remonstrance. 

Very soon a third occasion for the exercise of a spirit of for- 
bearance was presented, when on the return of Mr. Williams 
with the charter, in the autumn of 1644, he found New England 
again on the point of being involved in Indian war. The Nar- 
ragansetts had resolved to avenge the murder of Miantinomi 
upon the Mohegans. Once more his salutary influence was 
successfully exerted to avert the impending evil, A treaty was 
concluded, and for the second time within eight years. New 
England owed her peace and safety to the magnanimity of her 
victim. The last example we shall mention of hostility on 
one side and generosity on the other occurred in 165S while 
the terrible persecution of the Q.uakers was at its height. 
Rhode Island was urged to join in the fierce oppression. The 
insolence of the Puritan colonies, exulting in their strength, 
unmindful of past favors, but jealous of the growing prosperity 
of "the heretic State," now displayed itself in measures of 
constraint, and threats of exclusion from all intercourse or trade 
with rest of New England, to force her from her fidelity to 
the cause of religious freedom ; but in vain. The result of this 
controversy was an appeal to Cromwell by the General Assem- 
bly that "they may not be compelled to exercise any civil 



20 

power over men's consciences, so long as human orders, in point 
of civility, are not corrupted or violated." But letters of re- 
monstrance from Old England had little effect in New, and it 
was not till the dawn of a brighter day, when Rhode Island 
principles had achieved their own triumph, that the occasion 
for forbearance by reason of injuries received, and for protection 
to the victims of Puritan persecution ceased for ever. 

We have now sketched the principal features in the early 
history of the State : the ground work of a superstructure 
which the more closely we examhie it the more remarkable 
it will appear. Standing as she did from the beginning in 
striking contrast to every other British colony, originating prin- 
ciples unknown to them and unheard of in the world, contend- 
ing for those principles as for her very existence, and acting 
upon them with a persistence proportioned to their importance, 
she could not fail to present many points peculiar to herself so 
long as she stood alone, the exclusive champion of ideas now 
every where admitted. Her annals, from the date of her first 
charter down to the day when with rehictant hand and doubt- 
ing heart she signed the death-warrant of her individuality, and 
merged her distinct existence in the American Union, are re- 
plete with action, which here, as no where else, displayed the 
spirit of the people. There is much in this history to condemn, 
very much to admire and imitate ; but the former will be found 
to pertain for the most part to private acts, the latter to the 
government, which has always expressed in Rhode Island the 
or"-anized will of the whole people. The conflict of ideas as 
to the limits and the practical application of the principles we 
have named, often produced a degree of political excitement in 
Rhode Island from which the other colonies were exempt. 
Parties were formed, and questions often slight in themselves, 
but involving in their principles the very existence of the new 
institutions, were discussed, in village meeting and in General 
Assembly, with a bitterness unknown to modern debate, and 
Avith results at times threatening to disorganize society. Feuds 
arose between neighboring settlements which sometimes led to 
acts of violence, and on one occasion caused the fatal policy of 
intervention to be adopted, by calling in the aid of Massachu- 



21 

setts under the plea of obtaining her protection. An armed 
force invaded Rhode Island, captured Gorton and a few others, 
and threw them into prison for many months on a charge of 
blasphemy. The internal strifes were in time appeased by the 
decision of commissioners appointed by the General Assembly. 
The external ones were of longer duration and more serious 
import. 

Meanwhile a new and unlooked for trial arose in [Rhode Is- 
land, which was to test yet more severely the loyalty of the 
people to their free institutions. The turmoil occasioned "" y 
the factious spirit of the towns furnished the ambition of Cod- 
dington with the occasion and the excuse for his usurpation. 
In 1651 William Coddington went to England and by some 
means procured from the Council of State a commission for 
life as Governor of the island of Rhode Island. This daring 
act, so inconsistent with the republican spirit of the colony, was 
met by a prompt and decisive rebuke on the part of the people. 
A second time Mr. Williams was sent to England to exert his 
powerful influence in behalf of the colony ; and with him was 
associated a man whose name should ever be held in the highest 
veneration in this State, for his talent, his energy, and his ex- 
alted worth. A fitting companion for Roger Williams was 
John Clark. The mission was successful. Coddington's 
power was revoked. Mr. Williams returned the next year. 
Dr. Clark remained in England as permanent agent, and ulti- 
mately obtained the second charter in 1663. It is difficult at 
this distance of time to form a just estimate of Coddington's 
conduct in this affair. The censure of the people was prompt 
and decisive, and continued for more than twenty years to ex- 
clude him from the head of government, although he was 
repeatedly elected Representative and Assistant. His talents 
and real worth however ultimately succeeded in restoring the 
general confidence, so that he was four times chosen Governor 
under the second charter. 

The restoration of the Stuarts, annulling the acts of the Long 
Parliament, obliged Rhode Island to seek a renewal of her 
privileges by another charter. It was at an auspicious moment, 
when Charles II was yet barely seated upon his throne, that the 



22 

talent and energy of Dr. Clark obtained this instrument. It 
confirmed every thing that the previons patent had given, and 
vested even greater powers in the people. Under it the State 
was an absolnte sovereignty with powers to make its own laws, 
religious freedom was guaranteed, and no oath of allegiance was 
required. Rhode Island become in fact, and almost in name, 
an independent State from that day. To the minds of the 
King and of Lord Clarendon it was a curious experiment. 
They would yield to the whims of that singular little colony to 
see what would come of it. George III and Lord North saio 
what became of it. The act of July Sth 1663 resulted in the 
act of July 4 1776. The memorable words of King Charles, 
when he granted the charter, contained at once a pleasantry and 
a prediction. 

The State now occupied a higher position than her neigh- 
bors could claim. Her idea was realized. Freedom was no 
longer a phantom of philosophy, but an existing fact. Still this 
did not silence her Puritan oppressors. The spirit of Church 
and State was aroused at the prospective triumph of free prin- 
ciples. The neighboring colonies boldly asserted their preten- 
sions to nearly the whole soil of Rhode Island. Connecticut 
claimed all Narragansett. Massachusetts claimed Providence 
and Warwick, and both resorted to violence to confirm their 
jurisdiction. Plymouth claimed Rhode Island and the eastern 
towns. She alone pressed her claims with moderation and 
quietly yielded to the decisions of the British Commissioners ; 
but Plymouth was a Pilgrim colony and animated by a more 
liberal spirit than was shown by the Puritan provinces. These 
external strifes occupy a large portion of our history for nearly 
a century after the date of the charter, and much of the cor- 
respondence with the home government, still preserved in the 
archives at London, relates to these boundary disputes. 

The accumulated wrongs of forty years, at length wrought 
their natural result in an alliance of all the Indian tribes against 
the New England confederacy, and Rhode Island, which had 
never been admitted to the league, became the battle ground 
in Philip's war. The New England forces, 1000 strong, 
passed through Providence, receiving accessions of volunteers 



23 

as they marched on to South Kingston, where, ''in the great 
swamp fight," the power of the Narragansetts was broken forever. 
The government of Rhode Island being, in the years 1675 and 
6, in the hands of the Quakers, she took but little part in that 
war ; and as the Indians were her friends, she sutFered but 
little till near the close of the war, when Providence was par- 
tially burnt and Warwick entirely so, and the greater part of 
the inhabitants of the mainland towns took refuge on the 
island. At this time the first step was taken by Rhode Island 
towards a system of defence in which she was afterwards des- 
tined to take preeminence. A naval armament, slender to be 
sure, for her means were most limited, but adequate as it proved 
for the purpose, was equipped, consisting of row boats which 
were employed in guarding the island against invasion from 
the main land. In these four gunboats we see the germ of a 
future Rhode Island squadron, one century later, and an ulti- 
mate American navy. 

When the war was over the prisoners were mostly sold into 
slavery for life. Rhode Island proved herself more enlightened 
in this respect, and passed a law in March, 1676, prohibiting 
Indian slavery, and placing the captives upon the same footing 
as white apprentices. This was consistent with the spirit of 
freedom and in conformity with the act of May, 1652, prohi- 
biting negro and white slavery, both of which were in use at 
that time. That law is believed to be the first legislative 
enactment in the history of this continent, if not of the world, 
for the suppression of slavery, and is as honorable to the State 
as its devotion to those principles of freedom more generally 
known as its own. Those who examine the past legislation 
of Rhode Island, will discover many acts which, like this, de- 
serve to be better known ; laws that embodied the peculiari- 
ties of Rhode Island sentiment, and present a marked and 
creditable contrast to every contemporary code. But this sub- 
ject would furnish a theme of itself. 

We pass on to observe how the State maintained her posi- 
tion during the severest trial she had yet experienced. The 
commission of Sir Edmund Andros was a virtual revocation 
of her glorious charter. A writ of quo warranto had been 



24 

issued against it in June, 1686. This colony promptly and 
prudently declined to stand suit with His Majesty, threw them- 
selves upon his mercy, and petitioned for pardon "if through 
ignorance they had erred," but carefully retained their charter 
in possession, although suspending for a while its exercise. 
The conduct of the people of Rhode Island, throughout this 
difficult affair, evinced a degree of diplomatic address which 
obtained for them some privileges not accorded to the other 
colonies, and with which all their subsequent intercourse with 
the mother country, till near the separation, is replete. Rhode 
Island and Plymouth at once bowed to the storm they could 
not avert. The other colonies resolutely refused for a while, 
and Massachusetts lost her charter in consequence. Although 
tae government of Andros has been held up as one of absolute 
tyranny, and justly so as respects the greater part of his ad- 
ministration, the other New England colonies complained most 
bitterly of those acts which Rhode Island could not but ap- 
j ove, and some of which, as seeming to be favors shown to 
her, were construed into acts of hostility to them. So little is 
known of the details of his government, most of the records of 
the Council having been lost, and so general is the prejudice 
against him to this day, that it may sound strange to say, that 
in any respect Sir Edmund Andros was a benefactor to Rhode 
Island. "The evil that men do lives after them, the good is 
often interred with their bones." So has it been with Andros. 
His will was arbitrary. His rule, even in Rhode Island, where 
\i was mildest, was oppressive ; but his acts, where they were 
good, should not be forgotten even though the evil predomi- 
nates. He sought to establish universal toleration in religion. 
This was abhorrent to Massachusetts. In her estimation it 
was rampant Rhode Islandism. His object to be sure was to 
secure a foothold for the Church of England, not to favor the 
principle. But Rhode Island could not object to see her free 
ideas adopted by a despot, although what was a principle with 
her was merely policy with him. The long disputed boundary 
with Connecticut was established by Andros in accordance 
with the claims of Rhode Island. This added a new cause of 
complaint in which our State could not unite. So long as he 



25 

ruled, Rhode Island was secure from the insults of her neigh- 
bors and protected against them in her rights. The courteous 
treatment which he here received, compared with the rudeness 
elsewhere shown him, led him to represent Rhode Island in 
his despatches in favorable contrast with the other colonies. It 
is not improbable that the assurances of her loyalty repeatedly 
given by Andros, had some effect in securing the tacit confir- 
mation of her chartered rights under the succeeding reign. 
But at best it was only the smile of a despot. Rhode Island 
felt that she was chained and longed to breathe again the air 
of freedom. The approach of the revolution of 1688 was the 
signal for the fall of Andros. In the turmoil that ensued he 
escaped to Rhode Island, was seized at Newport in August, 
1689, sent back to Boston and there imprisoned. Rhode 
Island meanwhile had. on the first of May, 1689, resumed her 
government under the charter, restored the officers whose term 
of service was interrupted by the arrival of Andros in 1686, 
and adopted an address, carefully directed "to the present su- 
preme power in England," which is a model of diplomacy. 

The war with France and Spain now engaged the attention 
of the colonies. In July, 1690, a French fleet captured Block 
Island, Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, and attempted to take 
Newport at night by surprise, after which they attacked New 
London, but were beaten oft'. Rhode Island at once equipped 
two vessels with 90 men, to retake Block Island. The expe- 
dition was commanded by Capt. Paine. A bloody action took 
place off the island, on the 21st, against five sail of French 
vessels. It lasted two hours and a half till darkness put an 
end to the conflict. The next morning the French sailed, 
having lost nearly one half their men in killed and wounded, 
while Capt. Paine lost but seven. He gave chase and com- 
pelled them to sink a prize which they had taken. This bril- 
liant exploit at once inspired our people with a naval spirit. It 
was the first essay of Rhode Island on the open ocean, and the 
worthy harbinger of many daring deeds. French and English 
privateers now began to infest the American seaboard, and, as 
a natural result, when the war was over this degenerated into 
piracy. The eighteenth century opens upon a scene of pirati- 

4 



26 

cal adventure, in which all New England and New York were 
deeply involved. Rhode Island came in for her share, and the 
notorious Capt. Kidd is known to have frequented the waters of 
the bay, and to have had accomplices here as well as in Boston 
and New York. The Earl of Bellemont, then Governor of 
Massachusetts, in a letter to the Board of Trade, says, that 
Gov. Cranston should be called to account for "conniving at 
pirates and making Rhode Island their sanctuary." It should 
be remembered, however, that not only privateering, but any 
Custom House irregularity, in those days, was branded with 
the name of piracy, and hence we find frequent complaints 
against the Deputy Collectors and other officers in Rhode Island 
for this crime. A colon)/' which, in its first code, adopted for 
itself the sea lavi^s of Oleron, and conducted under its charter 
a foreign trade, v^^ithout much regard to the regulations of the 
home government concerning that trade, could not fail, under 
such circumstances, to subject itself to these charges. Hence 
we find that Rhode Island came in for more than her share 
of blame, and complaints of this kind were frequently 
entered against her, until that audacious act of "flagrant 
piracy," as it was termed, the capture of His Majesty's armed 
schooner Gaspee, filled to the brim the cup of British indigna- 
tion and led to the separation of the colonies. 

The boldness of Rhode Island, in assuming Admiralty juris- 
diction, Vv'hich caused so much ill will toward her, was carried 
still further when Dudley, T\^ho succeeded as Governor of Mas- 
sachusetts upon the death of Lord Bellemont, attempted, by vir- 
tue of a royal commission, to assume the military command of 
Rhode Island, then amounting to about 2000 men. In Sept., 
1702, Dudley with some of his council and an escort of cavalry, 
came to Newport and published his commission. A sharp in- 
terview took place between Governors Cranston and Dudley, 
the former insisting upon the militia clause of the charter as 
paramount to His Majesty's commission to the latter, and re- 
fusing a definite reply till the Assembly should meet in Octo- 
ber. That afternoon, Dudley gave orders to the commander of 
the regiment on the island to parade next day, but was refused 
by him on the ground that he was sworn to obey the General 



27 

Assembly, or the Governor and Council, and recognized no 
other authority. Dudley and his escort at once left the island. 
The Assembly was convened immediately, and addressed a 
letter to Gov. Dudley, and another to the Board of Trade, 
pleading their chartered rights in defence of their conduct. A 
similar attempt had been made by Sir William Phipps, ten 
years before, and was several times repeated subsequent to 
Dudley's repulse, but always with the same successful result 
on the part of Rhode Island. Without recounting the constant 
difficulties which sprung up between this State and England, 
for the next half century, we may say in brief, that they often 
arose from ignorance or disregard in the British government 
of the charter of Rhode Island, granted so long before, and dif- 
fering so essentially from any existing charter, as well as from 
the reason sometimes alleged, the attempt of Rhode Island to 
usurp more than her real charter privileges. She held on to 
that charter as to the last hope of freedom — and she was right. 

The peace of Ryswick, in 1697, lasted but four years. The 
war of the Spanish succession ensued. The national debt of 
England dates from this period. The New England colonies 
were called to take an active part in hostilities against the 
French in America. Rhode Island had already outlived the 
ban of proscription, which once excluded her from the New 
England confederacy, and was expected and ready to take part 
in the contest in common with her neighbors. The treaty of 
Utrecht in 1713, gave but temporary relief to the combatants. 
The whole eighteenth century in fact, down to the peace of 
Paris in 1763, was occupied in wars, in which the colonies were 
constantly engaged in naval expeditions, or employed in self 
defence against the savages and the French. In these strug- 
gles, Rhode Island bore a creditable part ; but it was not till 
her own peculiar principles were directly attacked, that her full 
energies were exerted, and the same position boldly taken 
against England which had already prevailed against her early 
oppressors. 

The spirit of freedom was roused to its final struggle by the 
acts of the British parliament. The enormous national debt of 
England, called for some extraordinary means to increase the 



28 

revenue. To enforce the navigation laws, Avliich had always 
been obnoxious in Rhode Island, and to impose stamp duties, 
which implied the right to tax without representation, were 
the modes adopted. In September, 1765, the General Assem- 
bly passed resolutions declaring that in themselves alone ex- 
isted the right to tax the colony, directing the State officers to 
disregard all laws for this purpose emanating from any other 
source, and assuring them immunity in so doing. This was 
the boldest act on record, up to that date. It fell little short of 
the absolute declaration of independence, passed by the General 
Assembly ten years later. The act was followed by move- 
ments in the same direction throughout the country, which 
resulted in the repeal of the stamp act a few months later. A 
system of duties on imports, was next attempted. It was im- 
mediately resisted, and non-importation agreements entered 
into by all the colonies. From this measure resulted the first 
blow struck in the American revolution. The first shot fired 
in that war was spent in Narragansett bay. The first British 
blood spilt in the great conflict for freedom was that of Lieut. 
"Duddington, commanding H. B. M.'s schooner Gaspee. It 
was on the 9th June, 1772. The Gaspee had been stationed 
liere to enforce the revenue laws, and her commander was rigid 
beyond reason in the discharge of his commission, compelling 
even the river craft to heave to when he pleased. On that 
day, in chasing a sloop, he ran aground on what is now called, 
from this circumstance, Gaspee point. The sloop brought up 
the news to Providence. In the evening, an expedition of 
eight boats was fitted out. duietly, with mufHed oars, they 
approached the Gaspee ; nor were they discovered until re- 
sistance was too late. The struggle was brief. The crew 
were secured, and, with their wounded leader, landed on the 
shore near Pawtuxet. In the flames of the burning Gaspee, 
were consumed that night the last hope or wish of pardon, and 
the colony now prepared, with vigor, for the inevitable war. 
No clue to the perpetrators of this act of unequalled daring, 
could ever be obtained by England, although large rewards 
were offered. 



29 

The captors of the Gaspee were patriots not "pirates," and 
England found their motive stronger than the love of gain. 
On the 17th May, 1774, the town of Providence moved for a 
Continental Congress, and on the 15th June, the Assembly 
elected Stephen Hopkins and Samuel Ward as delegates to the 
Congress. In this suggestion, Rhode Island again was fore- 
most among the States, and in the election, she preceded, by 
two days, the action of Massachusetts, which has hitherto been 
deemed the first to elect delegates. At the same time, a law 
was passed prohibiting the importation of slaves into the colony, 
which, notwithstanduig the law of 1653, had been done to 
some extent, and providing for the speedy emancipation of ex- 
isting slaves. 

The news of the battle of Lexington was the signal for a 
general rising. In May, 1775, three regiments were raised in 
Rhode Island, by order of the General Assembly. They were 
called the "Army of Observation," and were enlisted, by the 
form of their commissions, "into His Majesty's service." They 
were placed in command of General Nathanael Greene, and 
were soon on their march to join the grand army near Boston. 
In June, six additional companies were raised and sent forward 
to the same point. Upon this subject. Judge Cowell aptly re- 
marks, in his invaluable contribution to the history of our State, 
entitled "The Spirit of '76 in Rhode Island," "Never had 
'His Majesty' an army sooner enlisted iiito his service, than the 
'army of observation' of Rhode Island in 1775." But Gov. 
Wanton was a tory and refused to sign the commissions. A 
special act of Assembly empowered Henry Ward, Secretary, to 
sign them, which he did. In October, Gov. Wanton was depos- 
ed by formal Resolve of the Assembly, and the oflice of Governor 
declared vacant. This was an act of legislative daring, for 
which no compromise with royalty was provided or expected. 

In June, 1775, Rhode Island was the first to equip a naval 
armament of her own, consisting of two brigs, and increased 
to four vessels in August ; at which time she recommended to 
Congress, the establishment of a Continental navy. The idea 
was adopted, and Rhode Island had the chief share in carrying 
it out. This appears to be the first suggestion of the kind 



30 

from any public body. Rhode Island furnished the first Com- 
modore, Esek Hopkins, and the largest number of officers and 
men for the earliest naval expedition attempted by the colo- 
nies, which resulted in the capture of Nassau. She built and 
equipped the first Continental frigates, by order of Congress, 
the Warren of 32, and the Providence of 28 guns, and to her 
belongs the honor of discharging, upon her own waters, "the 
first cannon fired in the revolution at any part of His Majesty's 
navy." 

But there yet remained a greater deed for her to perform, one 
of which very little has been said, but which is the most re- 
markable, as it was the last important act in the history of the 
American colonies. On the 4th of May, 1776, Rhode Island 
formally declared her independence of Great Britain, by a sol- 
emn act, abjuring her allegiance to the British crown. No 
apology need be made for inserting this act in full. It consti- 
tutes Rhode Island as the oldest independent State in America. 

"Au act ropealiug an act entitled 'An act for the more eflectnally securing 
to Ilis Majesty the allegiance of his subjects, in this his colony and dominion 
of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations,' and altering the forms of com- 
missions, of all writs and processes in the Courts, and of the oaths prescribed 
by law." 

'■Whereas in all States, existing by compact, protection and allegiance are 
reciprocal, the latter being only due in consequence of the former ; and 
whereas, George the Third, King of Great Britain, forgetting his dignity, re- 
gardless of the compact most solemnly entered into, ratified and confirmed to 
the inhabitants of this colony, by his illustrious ancestors, and, till of late, fully 
recognized by him, — and entirel}' departing from the duties and character of 
a good King, instead of protecting, is endeavoring to destroy the good people 
of this Colony, and of all the United Colonies, b}' sending fleets and armies to 
America, to confiscate our property, and spread fire, sword and desolation 
throughout our country, in order to compel us to submit to the most debasing 
and detestable tyranny ; whereby we are obliged by necessity, and it becomes 
our highest duty, to use every means with which God and nature have fur- 
nished us, in support of our invaluable rights and jirivileges, to oppose that 
power which is exerted only for our destruction. 

"Be it therefore enacted by this General Assembh-, and by the authority 
thereof it is enacted, that an act entitled 'An act for the more effectually secur- 
ing 'to his Majesty the allegiance of his subjects, in this his colony and do- 
mi^aion of Rliode Island and Providence Plantations,' be, and the same is 
hereby repealeil." 

"And be it further enacted by tliis General Assembly, and by the authority 
thereof it is enacted, That in all commissions for ofHces, civil and military, and 
in all writs and processes in law, whether original, judicial or executory, civil 
or criminal, wherever the name and authority of the said King is made use of, the 
same shall be omitted, and in the room thereof, the name and authority of the 
Governor and Comjiany of this colony shall be substituted, in the following 
words, to wit: 'The Governor and Company of the English Colony of Rhode 



31 

Island and Providence Plantations.' That all such commissions, writs, and 
processes, shall be otherwise of the same form and tenure as they heretofore 
were ; that the Courts of Law, be no longer entitled nor considered as the 
King's Courts ; and that no instrument in writing, of any nature or kind, 
whether public or private, shall, in the date thereof, mention the year of the 
said King's reign ; Provided nevertheless, that nothing in this act contained, 
shall render void or vitiate any commission, writ, process, or instrument here- 
tofore made or executed, on account of the name and authority of the said 
King being therein inserted." 

Then follow the forms of writs, commissions, &c. prescribed 
under the new order of things. 

The records of the Assembly had always closed with the 
loyal rubric, "God save the King." At the close of this session, 
the form was changed, and "God save the United Colonies" 
appears, for the first time, on the archives of the ancient Plan- 
tations. Messengers were dispatched in haste to Congress and 
to all the colonies, to convey the news and urge the nation to 
decisive action. Two months afterwards, the United States of 
of America claimed a seat in the family of nations. The revo- 
lution was at its height. 

We cannot follow our gallant soldiers through the trials 
and perils of that protracted war, in which Rhode Island did 
more than her part, and suffered more than her share in the 
common cause. The revolutionary history of Rhode Island 
would require a volume. It was the last triumphant struggle 
for the principles of her glorious charter. She had outgrown 
the scorn and contempt of her early foes, and lived to witness 
them quietly adopting her example, and ranging themselves 
luider the same banner, which, for nearly a century and a half, 
she had borne untarnished through many a conflict. 

Legislators of Rhode Island. These where the princi- 
ples which animated your ancestors, and which are now en- 
trusted to you to perpetuate and defend. The spirit of Rhode 
Island history, so long as the State maintained her distinct exist- 
ence, was the spirit of freedom, of justice, of forbearance, and of 
patriotism. Ever nicely balancing herself between the opposing 
elements of liberty and law, she first taught the world, that these 
two elements are essential to each other ; that while, without 
their union, liberty must degenerate to license, and law resolve 
itself to tyranny, the two combined make up the perfect State, 



32 

and conflicting parts complete the harmonious whole. Hers 
was a great experiment, and so complete her trimnph, that men 
overlook the humble source, while they observe the widely 
spread result. They seem to think that these ideas, which all 
men now admit, have always been, and do not know that to 
this State alone belongs the honor of their application. It is 
well that these principles were originated and perfected upon 
so small a field, where the interchange of thought was not 
impeded by distance, at a time when footpaths were the only 
roads, and primeval forests overspread the land. Then the 
waters of the bay furnished the only highway, and along its 
shores alone, were scattered the colonists of Rhode Island. 

I have said, that we should preserve our individuality as a 
State. For this, it is not requisite that we should be singular, 
but only that what we are and have been, should be continued 
and made known. The time has come when we should no 
longer be a peculiar people, acting only for or within ourselves. 
We form a part of one great nation. The influence of our 
example has extended far beyond our narrow borders, and has 
already made the American Union one vast Rhode Island in 
principle and feeling. What we most require, is, that other 
States should know and bear in mind, whence sprang the seed 
of all their greatness ; that here, on this spot, was the hallowed 
ground, and the fathers of Rhode Island the husbandmen. 
Then will the State be secure in its distinctive character, and 
the grave of Williams, like that of Washington, become "the 
Mecca of the Free." 

Civil freedom. Religious liberty. These were kindred 
plants, from a common stock, that required a virgin soil. Here 
they were reared, and striking deep their roots, have grown 
and flourished, till their far-spreading branches overarch a 
continent, and their dense and vigorous foliage almost conceals 
the spot where the venerable trunk yet draws its nourishment, 
and imbibes its moisture from the unfailing waters of the Nar- 
ragansett. 



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